


The Stables

by yeaga



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Height Switch, Human!Eren, M/M, Short!Eren, Tall!Levi, this is literally pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-31
Updated: 2014-01-31
Packaged: 2018-01-10 16:56:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1162211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeaga/pseuds/yeaga
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren Yeager is just a normal boy.  His parents are alive back at home, and though his mother still worries over him, he has surprisingly lived through many missions, from joining the Scouting Legion at fifteen to now, where he is eighteen. He's known for being a bit of a horse whisperer, and usually likes spending time to take care of them. And, he's never actually seen Corporal Levi up close - until now.</p><p>(Alternate summary: Eren is short. Levi is tall. I'm on a horse.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Stables

**Author's Note:**

> SHORT!EREN, TALL!LEVI IS MY LIFEBLOOD. EVEN-SLIGHTLY-HAPPY!EREN IS ALSO MY LIFEBLOOD. so just take this. take it. Enjoy that. enjoy this

Eren's mouth opened in a yawn, his arms above him in a stretch as the sun was only barely rising into the sky. He wasn't usually an early bird, but on today another expedition was planned. He trudged into the stables where he knew his own companion was kept, a small smile appearing on his face as he whispered a greeting to his horse under his breath, reaching up and scratching behind the stallion's ear. He received a pleased snort in reply. The horse, brown in coloration, had been named King. Simple, and perhaps it appeared unnecessary to some, but for Eren, the animal had always stayed true to his name. He wasn't afraid of anything, especially not titans, not unlike Eren himself. It was hard not to get attached to your assigned horse, despite knowing that they could be lost almost as easily as comrades - titans didn't eat them, but they could crush them when attempting to catch a human.

Losing comrades...he had experienced his fair share of that emotional pain. Eren had been lucky enough to not lose anyone close to him. Mikasa Ackerman, his sister, was still beside him, as well as his best friend Armin Arlert. Still, he remembered Marco Bodt - a soldier he had known and conversed with that had gotten eaten not long after they had all joined the Scouting Legion. Despite it being three years later, it still stung. He had grown used to it, but at the same time, he didn't opt to hide behind a mask like others. He didn't hide his emotions to any extent, hadn't seen the point in covering up so it would hurt less. Eren had always believed that, if you dealt with it like that, in a way you were being disrespectful to the dead. But that was just his opinion. Caring for the horses, King especially, had helped him relieve some of the constant torment and fear that came with the Scouting Legion mindset. It was a nice way to calm down after getting into a fight (he got into those often), and made him more content with the way things are to an extent.

His let his hand drop to his side, eyes wandering. Sometimes he could recognize a horse that wasn't his own if they looked unique enough. His gaze finally fell on a black horse, which caught his eye. Gray horses were very common, but not so much darker ones or lighter ones, so it was a delight to see. Giving one final glance to King, he walked over to it carefully, making eye contact. It seemed quite stoic, didn't make much noise even when it realized Eren was moving closer to it. "Hi," He said anyway to alert it before he reached out, standing on the tips of his toes to pet it's head. There was really no such thing as a skittish horse in the Scouting Legion, given what they had to put with, but it was still just common sense to try your best not to spook them. "Who's your owner, I wonder?" He asked the horse, who whinnied softly, which made him laugh quietly. "Oh? I think I've heard of them before." 

A huff escaped him, as he attempted to push himself up further to pet the horse more. It was difficult. Eren was as short as his temper was around people. The horse didn't move it's head back at this thankfully, in fact the expression that played on the animal's face almost looked amused to him.

"She doesn't usually allow other people to get that close to her."

A deep voice suddenly rang throughout the stables, tone bored but commanding. He jumped a little, but replied before he looked anyway, since the stranger was obviously talking to the only other person in here: himself. "Oh, I didn't know she was a mare --" His sentence trailed off the instant he turned; standing in the entrance way was a face he recognized instantly. "C-C-Corporal Levi," He stuttered out unintentionally. Eren was stunned. This man had been his childhood hero, had been an inspiration and a reason he wanted to fight titans in the first place, and here he was, meeting him in the flesh for the first time in the _stables_ of all places.

The boy was just about to throw up a hasty salute and rectify the casual tone he had used before, when a small 'tch' emitted from the man's mouth, footsteps sounding as he made his way over to Eren. It made him freeze up. "Don't piss yourself." Levi drawled, easily bringing a hand up and petting the side of the horse's face. The horse seemed more amused than before, which made Eren a little angry, if he was honest. He swallowed. "I'm sorry, sir, if I had known it was yours..." An irritated sigh interrupted any continuation he could have thought of. "I _said_ , don't piss yourself, moron." The Corporal's surprisingly piercing gaze moved from the mare to Eren.

He thinks he should be given something for his bravery, because he blinks up at Levi instead of looking down at his feet dejectedly. That should count for something. And he definitely has to look _up_ \- Eren doesn't remember the man ever being so tall before. He guesses with the distance that was always between them it was difficult to tell, but he barely even comes to Levi's chest. "...You're a lot taller in person." He voiced his thoughts quietly. Searching Levi's face, heat rose slightly to his cheeks as a part of him so helpfully supplied: _A lot more handsome too._ Eren had always assumed no one could actually pull off that undercut trend and look good, but consider himself proven wrong. _Way_ wrong.

"What's your name?" Levi asked instead of replying to Eren, and the said brown haired adult was surprised by the suddenness of the question. He cleared his throat. "Eren Yeager, sir." The Corporal raised a brow at him, placing a hand on his side. "Eren, huh." The name wasn't half bad. He had heard worse. "Well, Eren, why don't you put yourself to use before the mission and clean this place up, along with the horses. We don't need them in a place as fucking disgusting as this. Get a goddamned ladder if you can't reach anything." With a roll of his eyes, he turned on his heel, promptly walking out - leaving a wide-eyed Eren behind him.

###### 

"You seem to be in a brighter mood today, Levi." Said Erwin casually, glancing at him. Levi glared. "...There was a brat at the stables this morning." Erwin smirked and Levi wanted to kick himself immediately for saying anything. "By the look on your face - a cute boy, I presume?" His glare increased tenfold. There was a long pause. "...Since I know you won't leave me alone, shithead...he was adorable. Now drop it." Erwin did not. "I think I'll tell Hanji." The black haired man gritted his teeth.

"Don't you fucking dare."


End file.
